The high-flying Vodacom Bulls and DHL Stormers will look to pick up where they left off in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship after a three-week hiatus in the competition.

Last season’s finalists cemented their places in the top four of the URC with a full house of five log points in round seven – the Bulls beat the Sharks 40-27 in Pretoria and, a day earlier, the Stormers recorded a 31-22 victory over the Lions at Ellis Park.

The next round of matches will see the Stormers face Scarlets in Cape Town on Friday, before the Bulls host Ospreys 24 hours later, with the Lions and Sharks welcoming the Dragons and Cardiff, respectively, on Sunday.

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Leinster (unbeaten after seven games) and Ulster, with five wins from six matches, lead the standings, with 33 and 25 log points, respectively. But, the third-placed Bulls and Stormers in fourth – both on 24 points – are still firmly in semi-final contention.

The Sharks (eighth with 15 points) and Lions (ninth on 15) both remain in sight of the playoffs, and have some games in hand over teams higher up on the log.

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